Emulation
by Novatierrie
Summary: Alphonse Elric was most decidedly not his brother, although it wasn't for lack of trying. RoyEd implied, RoyAl onesided, postseries and movie spoilers.


Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist does not belong to me, it belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, BONES, Square-Enix, Funimation, and any number of other companies/individuals. I am not profiting from this work of fanfiction.

Warnings: Spoilers for post-series.

Pairings: Roy/Ed, Roy/Al brief one-sided.

* * *

Alphonse Elric was not his brother. He definitely looked the part, resplendent in black leather and red cloth, the cross and serpent symbol on his back just as it had been on his brother's. He even acted like it, sometimes, although he couldn't completely pull off the charade in that regard: he was naturally too kind and easygoing to impersonate Edward's fiery temper; but no one could say he didn't try. The transmutation circles etched into his gloves were what everyone thought would be the last touch, but Al was determined to emulate his brother down to the last detail. 

That was why he stood outside the desolate military outpost, bundled up tight against the storm and chill, waiting.

The outline of an approaching figure appeared through the driving snow, regulation scarf flapping in the wind like a banner, signaling Al to the arrival of the man he had come all this way to see.

"Colonel Mustang!" Al exclaimed, leaping up and fumbling something between a salute and a wave, as if he wasn't quite sure what motion to make.

"Fullmetal?" Roy Mustang gasped, then he looked closer. "No...Alphonse." A dim smile worked its way across his face. "I hardly recognized you."

Al's bright grin put Roy's expression to shame. "So you do know me! And Brother!"

"Yes," Roy said absently, studying the younger Elric's face. Yes, he was most decidedly Ed's brother. They had similar features, not the same, though. Al was soft where Ed had been hard, but he shared the strength the brothers seemed to possess in spades. It was just a quieter sort of strength, a more methodical approach. But there was definitely a fire inside those gray-bronze eyes. Roy shook the thoughts out of his head, and the snow off of his hat, and opened the door to the outpost, ushering Alphonse inside. "It's too cold to be standing around outside."

Inside was not much better, although warmer. It was the stifling, uncomfortable silence that sucked all the life out of the room. Roy busied himself with building up the fire, while Al sat, staring pointedly at everything in the small room _but_ Mustang, and sitting completely, eerily still.

It was probably some unconscious hold-over from the armor, Roy thought, after all, Al had gone for years dealing with the clanking and groaning of metal every time he moved. He had it ingrained in him that to be silent, he had to be still. It was still unnerving, though, to be witness to.

Some time passed, with little more between them but the thick air and quiet ventures at conversation, things as mundane as asking about the weather, and Mustang forgetting for a moment that Alphonse no longer had armor to hide kittens in, or forgetting that the boy had no memory of the years he had spent in that armor in the first place.

"Alphonse, why are you here?" Roy interrupted, stopping Al in the midst of a rambling story of his journeys over the last year.

"I...I read some of Brother's letters. To you. I thought..."

For someone who had been sitting still as a statue for the last hour, Alphonse could move quite quickly, and Roy found himself with an armful of Elric mere seconds after the words passed Alphonse's lips, and now that mouth was occupied with something _much_ different. Roy hadn't even had time to protest it, but once he realized what was happening, he broke off the kiss and pushed Al away.

"You are not your brother, Alphonse Elric, and you should not try to take his place. If you do that, what will he do with himself when he returns?" Roy stood then, and took up his coat and scarf once more. "If you'll excuse me, I must go make my rounds." The door clicked shut behind Roy, leaving Al alone with his thoughts.

"...Brother..."


End file.
